Red Alert: Rise of Humanity
by CigarChomper
Summary: We will not break and we will not falter. No enemy will keep us from our revenge and conquest! Glory to the motherland! Glory to Earth!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So this is a plot bunny that refuses to leave me alone. To remedy this I've decided to post this little snippet. My updates will vary wildly on this story unless it gets a lot of reviews then I may make it my main focus.**

**A few things **

**1: this takes place just after Red Alert 2 Yuri's Revenge.**

**2: I am using the soviet ending.**

**3: If anyone cares to pitch me a character. I'll most likely use them.**

**4: the story will take place over the course of the years.**

**5: Humans will not use any mass effect tech**

**6: It will be bloody.**

**-oOo-**

Prologue: An interesting start.

"Every story has a beginning." –Anonymous

The Asari stared at the cold stainless steel door to an even colder room readying herself for the interrogation of a turian admiral. She knew she was in for long drawn out ordeal but it was absolutely necessary in order to understand the conflict that threatened to sweep through Citadel space and stop it. The human juggernaut was beginning to gather momentum as they mined entire moons to build vast fleets and upgraded their primitive slug throwers into lethal weapons. In months hundreds of ships would burst from the relay that led to their home world with their crews screaming for bloody vengeance. It was her job to gather all the information available, examine it from all angles and then enter negotiations with the Soviets and Allies, the two main factions of humans.

Then again the last reports before we were pushed out of the solar system said that they had practically merged in all but name and a few lines on the map. But then that was over a year ago perhaps they have gone back to fighting each other? She dared to hope but deep down she knew nothing brought people together like mutual hatred of an outsider.

Sighing she opened the steel door and walked into the cell behind it. It was a small dark room with a simple steel table in the middle with two chairs, one on each side. In one chair sat an old turian warrior brooding silently. Taking her seat on the opposite side of the table she opened a few holographic documents from her omni tool and projected them across the table.

"Do you know what these are Admiral Artius?" the asari asked.

"They would appear to be after action reports, physiological evaluations, that one even appears to be a suicide note."

"You must also realize who they are taken from…"

"My troops of course, " The malice in the last statement did not escape the asari.

"Then you must realize how disturbing it is that so many turian troops are broken from a handful of skirmishes with barbarians…"

"How dare you?! We fought a land war of which the likes we haven't seen sense the Krogen Rebellions! I would like to see how well you hold it together when you have several million soviet conscripts charging across the front screaming for your death with bayonets held high! We haven't even used bayonets in over a hundred years! Or better yet I would like to see how well your sanity holds together when you find that suddenly a dozen forward fire bases go dark and almost all your supply lines are cut and by the time a response force gets together all you find is bodies and brass casings to show that the Allies had been there? The Allies out maneuvered us on all the battles applying what they called 'The Art of War'. We faced an enemy who had grown from never ending conflicts, who almost thought of war as a pass time." Artius stopped his rant and let out a heavy guilt ridden sigh before continuing in a calmer tone. "We faced a highly determined enemy who fought on their one and only home world. It did not matter how advanced our technology was. The Soviets simply countered it by drowning us in blood and the Allies simply had better commanders. They adapted and overcame us through a mixture of our own arrogance, propaganda, determination and courage.

"Looking back now we shouldn't have been surprised when a massive make shift fleet came from the dark side of the moon and used over whelming prism and nuclear torpedo fire to stomp our scattered fleets. And even less surprised when joint forces easily over ran every position that lost fleet support. We pulled back so fast many got left behind and they were shot, stabbed and beat to death. They didn't even make the attempt to capture us. The most damning thing about the retreat though wasn't our casualties or loss in equipment but it was the amount of ships we left behind." He took a deep breath as he put together his thoughts but was cut off.

"The reports say all ships left behind had the data banks wiped and FTL drives destroyed how could that be worse than the lives lost?" There was a hint of accusation in the question.

"Forgive me I did not mean to sound uncaring. I grieve for my troops and the asari commandos who were killed but something you must understand is that the humans have in all likeliness developed their own FTL using their crono-technology and while the relay system allows for excellent bottlenecking it also forces us to populate in and around them. Most experts say it would take only two years to map out the entire relay system we have opened so far. So the fact they don't have our star charts is only a small advantage in our favor. Besides we retreated so fast I refuse to believe that we got to all the ships in time. The reason leaving those ships behind is damning is because after studying them they will undoubtedly overcome the problems their ships crude designs have."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Well their ships lacked any kind of artificial gravity, had terrible solar radiation shielding, weren't maneuverable in any real sense and the list goes on. With our ships they will undoubtedly adapt it to theirs, their engineers proved to be most uncanny with how quick they could take control of a building. To be honest it spooked some of the men. So in short we offered them the secrets to space exploration on a silver platter." Artius explained.

"Admiral I know most of the information you have just shared is in the reports but they lack any emotion and understanding the emotions they instill in other races allows us to understand them better and it will be needed if we are to avoid conflict. I am presented with the impossible task of forming the psych profile of a completely new alien race. I need all the help I can get and you happen to be in the best position to do that," the asari paused for a second to let her statement sink in then continued. "We will be working closely over the next year and a half."

"Why such a specific time frame?" Artius asked.

"The humans sent a probe through the relay."

"And what did it say?"

"Give them a chunk of the galaxy they lined out on one of our star charts they had captured in two years…"

"Or they invade using the scorched earth tactic to insure all the worlds lost to us lose as much value as possible," Artius finished or the asari. They sat in the room comprehending how costly it would be to put down another violent race.

"Well if we are going to work together I'm going to need a name to call you?"

"You may call me Amaria."

"Well Amaria, If you want to truly understand the humans you should hear my story from the beginning from me."

**-oOo-**

**Well ther you guys go please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter one: Pandora's Box

**Hello I'm glad to see you're back for more. I hope this chapter is up to your expectations. I'm just now realizing how terrible my last chapter was! The turian was way to quick with his emotional reaction and the whole pacing was to quick. Please let me know if I mess up like that again! **

**On a side note there is slight torture here. Nothing to gruesome or detailed but it is meant to show the brutality of the Commissars. So consider this your warning if you care.**

**Soviet army organization: **

**Squad-15 men **

**Platoon-60 men (four squads)**

**Company- 300 men (five platoons)**

**Regiment – 2,100 men (seven companies)**

**Division- 21,000 men (ten regiments)**

**During peace time operations Divisions are kept independent instead of combining into army groups. This allows for one division to be far more mobile and requires less micro managing from high command. Once they are deployed in a theatre of war they are combined to make up an Army Group of 50,000+ men.**

**Chapter one: Pandora's Box**

"Let sleeping dogs lay." –Anonymous

"Let's start then, give me a brief rundown of the events that led to the discovery of the humans." Amaria began as she opened a recording program on her omni-tool.

"As I'm sure you know fifty years ago there was a massive push to open new relays and the batarians were one of the main supporters of this movement seeking to gain land. Anyways the movement was stopped by the Counsel which in turn made the batarians upset. Mix that with the anti-slavery movement and you know they felt more than a little alienated. When we saw a buildup of ships in their space we, the turians I mean, matched it by doubling war ship production and boosting our patrols. Almost at once we saw them cut their production in half and even saw a few scrap yards fill up. We thought our muscle flexing had cowed them into not making any rash decisions. Sense than they've cut most ties to Counsel Space and even cut any migration outside of their own space. We were sure their leaders had lost favor with their people and were trying to maintain an iron grip of control.

"But we couldn't have been more wrong. They spent the entire time secretly opening up relays and gathering vast amounts of wealth and underwent a social revolution where slave labor was replaced by automated factories. In fact these days only the upper class batarians really keep slaves."

"Artius I don't understand what this has to do with the humans? Batarian space is at the other end of the galaxy?" Amaria interrupted.

"Forgive me I digressed a little. The batarian government soon sponsored pirates to go out and open up a number of relays all around known space. Turian patrols found and stopped most of the pirates before they opened too many relays. I personally hunted down two pirate fleets with the 7th Fleet. Anyways a few years later we tracked a pirate fleet through a relay and cornered them over a little red planet." Artius continued to explain.

"We both know it's impossible to force a fleet battle with current FTL technology. Why'd they stay and opt to fight?" Amaria asked.

"They had a research station ground side. They were trying to delay a landing force so they could wipe all the memory banks."

"What happened when you got troops on the ground?"

"Well after a few intense fire fights we managed to find out that another planet in the system had a sentient race inhabiting it called humans. They had been studying the humans for a few years though a lot of the information we got was pieced together from the heavily damaged hard drives so we don't truly know how long they had been there. Then we discovered they had found a completely intact prothian archive," Artius paused to let it sink in what they had found.

"By the goddess! A complete repository of all their knowledge? Such a find would jump our technology hundreds of years into the future!" Amaria had not been told this.

"Then it's too bad the pirate leader destroyed it."

"What?! How could he? All that knowledge, all that power all of it just wiped out?"

"How could he? Easy with ample amounts of explosives," Atius chuckled at his own grim joke. "I watched the combat footage from my cruiser in orbit. The marines had stormed the chamber taking heavy casualties but pressed on regardless. In a last act of defiance the leader of the batarians climbed to the top of the archive with enough explosives strapped to his chest to bring down a thresher maw. Then in perfect English, one of humanities languages, shouted "My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country." He proceeded to detonate the explosives. The batarians had been studying humanity and its past quite closely. Whatever they had discovered had them suitably impressed them.

"I'll skip over the more mundane details but we pieced together enough information from the surviving computers that we found earth and had a somewhat crude idea of what humanities past. Of course the idea we had of them was of nothing close to the truth. To us they were nothing more than savages that had waged countless wars against one another with primitive weapons and had just discovered the power of the atom. After scouting the planet and finding it scarred with multiple nuclear detonation sights but still a garden world council law made it clear we were to engage in first contact and establish whether or not they were too hostile or primitive to become a client race." Artius finished.

"You submitted a report to the Primarch after you studied the humans a little bit personally did you not?"

"I did."

"Care to share what you told him?"

Artius sighed in shame before sharing the information "In the initial scans the humans showed a knack for mass industry being able to produce entire factories within a week using a stamping process along with an impressive ability to strip mine at a fast pace. It became clear to me that if we could replace our logistical structure with human workers and turian overseers we would unstoppable. Armies would no longer be choked of gear and clogged down. If a tank was destroyed it could be replaced in a day. We could easily take a planet out from under an enemy fleet and build planetary defense guns and bring the fleet down without risking our precious dreadnoughts. It was simply too perfect an opportunity to not take. After learning how the Soviet Union had rolled across their borders and, pardon the human expression, steam rolled the Allies and most humans had opted to silently follow their new leaders. I made probably the greatest mistake of my career."

"Which was?"

"Thinking humans would be easily tamed if we showed them how technologically advanced we were and then give them a display of our power by hitting as many major bases at once as we could. In short we thought we could cow them with a sudden violent and brutal attack. Not to sound poetic but all we did was slap the Russian bear in the face expecting it to be so surprise it would obey our commands. That's what I put in my report." Artius felt an odd sense of relief flood through him at admitting his great shame.

"We'll skip over the politics surrounding the report for now then. Tell me what happened after you were given the go ahead to try and subjugate the humans." Amaria requested.

"I was given a fleet of one command and control dreadnought, fifteen cruisers and fifty frigates. We also got a support fleet of over a hundred ships. Most were cargo or repair ships the others were fuel tankers and troop landers. I was given four million turian troops augmented with another couple million combat mechs. My orders were simple bring the humans to kneel before their new masters and no matter what do not allow council ships in the system."

Amaria's eyes widened as this nugget of information was exposed. "Exactly how long was your engagement with the humans?"

"The official reports all say it lasted three months. High command's trying its damndest to hush up the truth to hide its war crimes, my war crimes, but it's time we drag it all into the light kicking and screaming. The war lasted three bloody years." Artius laid even more secrets out. It was time to come clean for the sake of peace. He had a son who just became a lieutenant and a loving wife both of which he would not see their blood spilled for his mistakes.

"Then fill in the missing time."

"Gladly."

-oOo-

1973 December 18, 50 Kilometers South of Rudtsovsk

Commissar Yosiv Sheppard stood in the machine gun copula of the half track watching as the 18th Division made their way through the snowy fields. They were returning to their base in the Mother Land from that dreaded city of Semey. They had been sent out when the entire city had gone dark, fearing that it was some cowardly trap set by the Allies they had been prepared for action. Though now he really wished it had been that.

They came to the city finding all roads blockaded and the buildings garrisoned by the citizens turning the city into a fortress. It seemed the whole damn city had risen up in rebellion. All attempts to communicate were met with no reply and any who got close were shot at. They knew the people would have to be put to the sword. The division deployed its V3 missile artillery and bombarded sections at a time opening up gaps all along the front. That was when the first disturbing clue made itself present, none of the rebels retreated. Civilians who had never seen combat were dying by the dozens every minute and it was like none of them cared.

When the artillery had expended most of its ammunition the troops attached bayonets and boarded their half track APC's making ready to charge into the fray. With the Rino tanks leading the charge they broke into the city easily destroying the first line of defense. The APCs disgorged their deadly cargo of conscripts, flack troopers and tesla troopers and they began their glorious work for the Union. Yosiv had been at the front leading by example, bellowing curses and motivational phrases while firing his pistol and swinging his saber. They were outnumbered a dozen to one and the citizens seemed to have no comprehension of cover, just blindly charging the Soviet soldiers with everything from old guns to pitch forks, aiming was just a waste of time. Yosiv's heart filled with pride at seeing his charges hold their ground and push back the waves of enemies. The battle seemed to be going well with morale remaining high and casualties low.

They made steady progress into the city till suddenly the citizens just fled deeper into the city; it was like someone had just turned off a water spout somewhere. Across the line commanders lost control of many troopers who in their eagerness to do their duty charged after the citizens. Yosiv had only kept his men inline by standing between them and the enemy and promised death to any who lost control. In truth he could not fault them for being eager but discipline would be maintained at all costs. They slowly made their way through the city heading for the town center. After dozens of abandoned blocks and no sign of the troopers who had charged ahead nerves began to fray and the soldiers had become edgy. It was when a single severely wounded conscript had stumbled back to Yosiv's line that nerves began to break from anticipation. He had notified General Turkovich over the radio then questioned the conscript. All the man could say before he died was 'grinders'.

Soon though they discovered what he meant. As they came with in just two kilometers of the town center they found that a circle one city block wide had been cleared away around the town center and evenly placed in the open ground were building sized meat grinders. Almost all the soldiers, Yosiv included, were veterans of the Psychic Dominator incident and World War 3. They had all seen what the traitor Yuri did with mind controlled slaves and the disgusting experiments on genetic mutations and augmented growth but what was happening before their very eyes would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Dozens of citizens walked into the grinders at a time and were in turn ground up into genetic material for their twisted war machine.

Yosiv tracked the pipes leading from the grinders to the center and spotted a tall radio tower in the center with generators surrounding it. The pipes were pumping liquid human matter into the generators. The Soviet advance was called to a halt by the general before they advanced into the open ground, the troops lost heart almost instantly. It was then that the enemy commander's strategy had become clear to the commissar. The enemy commander was one of Yuri's psy-commanders who must have managed to escape the Soviet purges and had covertly taken control of the town most likely using the radio tower as relay for his unnatural powers. From there the trap was carefully constructed, as the pieces had fallen into place Yosiv felt a cold horror creep into his gut. The enemy commander never wanted to stop the soviet troops instead he wanted them to come into the town center… right next to the psychic relay.

Yosiv had grabbed the closest radio operator and called up the general. After a heated argument he forced the general to order a charge before the relay could be charged and used against the Soviets by threatening the general with a field execution. The tanks targeted the grinders first and destroyed them easily but then the remaining mind controlled civilians had stormed them. It had been a bloody slaughter but once they managed break through the civilians the real killing started.

From the town center a wall of grey frenzied muscle erupted as a wave of brutes swarmed towards the soviets. Soldiers were torn apart along with tanks and tossed about for every brute that was killed at least twenty conscripts were smashed into paste. But finally with Yosiv at the front the courage of the Soviet troops won them the battle.

In the aftermath Yosiv had personally killed the enemy psy-commander and a conscript he had taken control of. Most of the city was either destroyed or burning with over 100,000 civilians dead from being ground up or shot all in less than ten hours. The city though had cost them just under 4,000 men but the armored companies were hit the hardest and were down to just 300 Rinos, the divisions 40 Apocalypse tanks had all made it out though, a true testament to Soviet armor. Enough half-tracks survived to carry the remaining troops and the flack half-tracks had not joined the attack so they were untouched. The Soviets were bloodied but not even close to breaking so when general Turkovich informed high command of his daring assault and how _he _had seen through the trap they had congratulated him and promised him a new shiny metal as soon as he arrived back at the base at Rudtsovsk. A day later they had moved out.

So that was what had brought him to the cloudy, cold winter morning riding a half-track in a kilometer long convoy of some 18,000 fighting men all loaded up in trucks and APC half tracks. Commissar Yosiv Shepard truly lived for this. He had been a war orphan raised by the glorious red army to become a motivator and executioner of men, a glorious commissar! He looked every bit like the commissars shown on propaganda posters; tall, well built, with chiseled features and a dark eyed gaze that would strike fear into generals and conscripts alike. In another life he would have been considered attractive but the life of a soldier had left deep scars across the side of his face. He truly did not mind as the scars went well with his peaked cap and black leather trench coat that covered the battle plates on his body and it all served its purpose well. He was a major presence on any field of battle giving inspiration to conscripts and drawing the fire of the enemy. His survival to the age of forty three was a testament to his skills and luck. His survival was also due to his strong balance between fear and inspiration with the troops he fought alongside with, he knew when to turn a blind eye to looting and when to put down a soldier who refused to do his duty. His execution count was only twenty four. Commissars half his age usually had twice that.

Yosiv tightened his jacket up a little and looked about the snow fields searching for enemies on the horizon. His thoughts turned to the future. It had been a whole year sense the soviets had conquered most of the world leaving Britain, France, Canada and America to form what was left of the Allies. He knew it was only going to be a matter of time before they were brought into the Union but then what? With no one left to fight what would the Soviets do with dinosaurs like him? _Maybe I'll apply to join the space corps? With the establishment of the moon base surely they could use a commissar to keep the guards disciplined?_

Yosiv was brought out of his brooding by a tug on his leg. Looking down a conscript was trying to get his attention.

"What is it comrade?" He called all who fought by his side comrade regardless of rank or social standing. It made him well liked among the cannon fodder.

"The General wishes to speak to you over the comms. Sir!" The conscript shouted through his gas mask/helmet as he saluted sharply.

Yosiv nodded and dropped down into the troop bay. Picking up the radio from one of the troopers he began the talk with the general.

"Sir General?"

"Commissar I'm about to share some extremely classified information with you and there is little time so listen up," The generals' tone was frantic.

"Understood."

"Three days ago the moon base detected a large collection of high massed objects in space. They are headed straight for earth we thought they were an asteroid field till they started making coarse corrections on their own…"

"Sir you don't mean…"

"Space craft. Well over two hundred accounted for with the largest being one kilometer. They have already begun targeting satellites. High command has notified all divisions to be prepared to lose all long range comms. Our standing orders are to pull back to the nearest base, secure what ever recourses we can, If we come under attack we are to defeat the enemy if possible. When all recourses available are gathered we are to pull back towards Moscow till contact is reestablished. We will receive new orders once there. I only tell you this before the rest of the troops because no matter who this new enemy is I need you to hold the troops together anyone who even looks like they might falter are to be shot at once," the general almost sounded like he was pleading.

"Sir who exactly is attacking us? Did Yuri have a space station or is it the Allies?" The commissar asked as his brain struggled to keep up with the information. "How long before the space craft make contact?"

"The last report we have received from the moon base before they turned the power off to avoid detection was that they had just reached high orbit and were starting to destroy communication satellites. And as for whom they are… A satellite did a deep scan of one of the vessels before it was destroyed. All high command told me was that the results showed that the hull had completely _alien _materials in it…"

_Alien. _The word tasted funny in his mouth but he was no fool. The logistics behind creating a fleet of ships in space would be immense. No one could do it without the public either being made aware or participating. And the fact they came from deep space… _Aliens._

"Commissar are you there? Hello?"

"Yes sir, the men will hold steady or by Lenon's blood they will die a cowards death."

"We only need to hold out for another forty minutes before we reach the base. I have already told the garrison to start building up flack and sentry guns. We'll have no idea how effective our weapons are against these… others. I want to minimize our risk as much as possible. I've also notified the town to start arming its citizens and any and all who have had training or are expendable are to report to the base… Shit! Listen we just lost contact with Moscow and the base is reporting air craft inbound on us. By Stalin's left cheek they just came streaking through the atmosphere!"

"General what is their numbers and eta?" Yosiv mustered up all the authority he could to bring the general back to his senses. The man was a half decent commander even though he was still a bit young and glory hungry for a general.

"We've got a dozen small contacts assumed to be attack craft with three larger craft assumed to be landers of some sort. They will be on top of us within ten minutes. Yosiv I am no fool and I know I'm out of my depth, your council will be greatly considered," The general stated.

Yosiv blinked a few times. Most Soviet commanders were too arrogant or stubborn to except advice from anyone but perhaps he had misread Turkovich. Commissars were largely looked down upon by commanders because they had no authority over them and you were just as likely to get an overzealous madman as to get one who knew what he was doing. Turkovich was trying to bridge the gap in the name of survival and Yosiv intended to help him as much as possible.

"Comrade General you have my full support."

"Glad to have it, I'm placing clusters of our anti-air assets at key locations throughout the division hopefully it will be enough," Turkovich cut the line showing their discussion was over.

Yosiv handed the radio handset back the radio operator. As he turned back to the troop bay he found that the fifteen troopers present were all staring at him, though their head gear hid all their faces he knew they all had concerned looks. He cursed himself for not watching what he said closer. Turning to the radio operator he ordered him to notify platoon commanders to expect an enemy air raid any second now. Then he turned towards the squad that was still watching him and considered what to say.

"Comrades remove your helmets," Yosiv commanded. Without hesitation the troops did so.

"Do any of you smoke?" Yosiv inquired. All responded with a 'Da' in unison. Yosiv nodded his approval of their unity. He took out his gold cigarette case and passed it around to the troops each one took single white stick.

"Light them up, we're about to be attacked by _others. _You men have earned a short break, you have won untold glories for the Union without faltering. Men such as you have been the reason why we won the last war and it will be men like you who win the next," Yosiv finished his speech and looked at each man in turn. He could see their hearts swell with pride and he nodded with satisfaction.

"Sergeant," Yosiv called.

"Sir?" A man at the back responded. He was a bit taller than most the men present, which said something since all conscripts were large well built specimens of humanity. The Soviet Union would not tolerate any weaklings and made sure none existed through tough military programs in all schools.

"Squad identification."

"First squad, fifth platoon, second company, 58th regiment sir," the sergeant replied almost lazily as he lit up his cigarette. This caused Yosiv to frown slightly at his laxness.

"Where all have you fought?" Yosiv asked beginning his assessment. Considering how to reprimand the sergeant for his lack of enthusiasm.

"Me and half my squad have engaged in San Francisco occupation in the first wave, we were then redeployed in the Korean pacification and when we finally got reinforcements we engaged Yuri's last stronghold in Transylvania taking part in the clearing of the castle and finally the burning of Semey yesterday," the sergeant explained.

Yosiv immediately reconsidered reprimanding the large man in front of him. He was a veteran from the start of the war and Red Army was dangerously scarce of them and the need bought them a little leeway. Also men such as him and their squads were often living legends among their regiments and punishing them could either harm morale or cause an all out riot. This also made them perfect for what he needed.

"Sergeant what is your name?" Yosiv asked.

"Dimitri Sir."

"Sergeant Dimitri under article 404 of the Commissariat Responsibilities and Authority Documents I, Yosiv Shepard, am conscripting you and your squad into my direct service," Yosiv stated as he lit up a cigarette of his own. Everyone in the troop bay suddenly went dead silent and still. A few even dropped their cigarettes in surprise. You could almost feel the room's temperature drop as the soldiers felt ice run through their veins.

Being turned into a commissar's glory boys, as the troops called those under a direct command of a commissar, was usually a punishment for a squad that was deemed 'Lacking in duty'. Which meant if a squad was ever seen pushing just hard enough to avoid execution but was staying well behind the rest of the forces they were forced under the direct command of a commissar who would use them as an example. They were always at the forefront of every charge always the ones who hoisted the flags in victory and they were always the first to die. Of all the units in the Red Army their casualties were the highest at near 60 percent dead and all the survivors sustaining wounds of one kind or another. It was almost certain death, weather it was the enemy guns at your front or the raging black coated devil at your back that killed you it all ended the same.

Yosiv grinned a little as the lax looking sergeant suddenly became a full alert and worried soldier.

"Sergeant understand that I am doing this out of need, not to punish you. We are about to fight an unknown enemy and I need a veteran squad at the front who won't die within minutes. I need strong men who will break the enemies back and give hope the rest of the men. You just had the terrible luck of being the best survivors I could find in short notice," Yosiv informed the sergeant trying to ease over the tension that was quickly growing. Dimitri's shock was quickly turning to anger. He had seen the worst of the past two wars and had led his men into the fighting and always got most of them out which was more than most of his peers could say. Now a commissar dared throw them in harm's way for the sake of looking good. Dimitri stood up and walked right up to the commissar and looked him dead in the eye. They stood like that for a minute. Yosiv wore a confident grin and Dimitri barely contained his anger.

"Sergeant, you know as well as I do the men need heroes. They need someone to aspire to be. I can do that, it's my job to be an example as well as a consequence. However if fellow conscripts match me in bravery imagine what that would do for the rest of the men, we will work together and push them to new heights!" Yosiv's calm and confident tone began to break through Dimitri's anger. There was great wisdom in his words. Humanity idolized war heroes and fellow soldiers always sought to match each other for no other reason than to not let their comrades down. If he set the bar higher as appose to the commissar all the men would rise up to the challenge willingly. If the commissar did it he would undoubtedly get the same results but at the cost of field executions and use of fear and shame.

Dimitri looked back at his men and frowned, he owed them all he had. They had followed him to hell and back without hesitation and every single one carried his weight and then some. They truly were heroes but putting them into the thickest fighting at the front on purpose seemed like betrayal. He couldn't do it to them, he knew he was dangerously close to insubordination and many commissars would have shot him then and there. What he was about to do would seal his fate, to actively defy the commissar would ensure his death but it was all he could do to stop this from happening.

But before he turned back to Yosiv his Corporal spoke up. "The Commissar is right men! We are needed at the front as a beacon of light to the others. We are the best damn squad in the whole regiment and the commissar has enough sense to see it. It's about time we were recognized! Let us do our duty to the motherland and have all witness it," a cheer suddenly went up from the troops. It was odd how one shift in perspective could make the problem a solution.

Dimitri turned back expecting to see the commissar gloat and laugh at him instead he found Yosiv giving him a sad smile of understanding. It hit Dimitri that what he was being asked to do was what Yosiv did every day. Yosiv wasn't some arrogant commander sending men to die in the mud; he was a fellow soldier just with more responsibilities. Dimitri's anger cooled off as his men all agreed that it was their patriotic duty to do this even if they were fighting a completely unknown enemy.

"Fine commissar we submit to your command. However when this is all over each one of my men are given their due credit and if they want out of the army you make sure that happens," Dimitri stated. He wouldn't back down about this.

"Sergeant, if any of us survive I'll personally see to it statues are raised in your squads honor across the planet," Yosiv chuckled grimly.

Dimitri was about to respond but then a near deafening _Bang _shook the APC so hard it sent the two men to the ground. Yosiv recovered first and ran for the machine gun copula hoping to see what was going on. As he popped open the hatch and rose till his torso was exposed he got a good look at the convoy. The air was full of smoke in his section and Yosiv caught the smell of burning metal in the air. He also caught sight of a smoking crater with bits of metal scattered about. As the convoy blew past it a shrill whistle could be heard in the air for a split second then another explosion farther away. Yosiv spotted the source of the deadly attack, flying in at a low altitude over the convoy were a trio of oddly shaped gunships. They had a thin tail section and thin wings with VETOL engines at the end. The cockpit looked just wide enough to house two, maybe three individuals. They also had large nose mounted cannons that were firing a stream of tracers that were ripping apart munitions trucks and APCs. In mere seconds they had taken down a half dozen armored transports and moved faster than the laser guided flack guns could traverse.

The trio of gunships turned and held their position for a few seconds while they unleashed their cannons on a Rino tank. At first the heavy soviet armor weathered the storm valiantly but the _others _weapons eventually broke through the weaker points and shredded the crew. The tank swerved out of the convoy and ground to a halt in the snow fields. However the pause that it gave the gunships gave a dozen flack guns the time they needed to line up and fire. The shells screamed through the air and exploded a few feet in front of the gun ships. As smoke and the speed the convoy was moving at obscured the gun ships from sight a cheer rose up among the flack gunners. It turned to yells of horror as the air craft flew from the smoke without a scratch on them. They unleashed a half dozen missiles each that reduced trucks and tanks to smoking scrap metal and unleashed their lethal cannons. Now missiles from apocalypse tanks that had been brought back from the forward positions flew out. The ECMs of the gunships easily fooled the missiles and they flew through the air in random directions. More flack guns joined the fray and they concentrated their fire upon the enemy. As more flack was unleashed flashes of blue could be witnessed where ever the metal shrapnel collided with an unseen barrier. A flack commander recognized it as a shielding system of some sort. Like the Iron Curtain. The call for all guns to focus on the center craft went out and in seconds a staggering thirty-four guns ripped apart the barrier that protected the craft. Its armor lasted a few more seconds as it tried to break away and retreat. Even though the craft and been mortally shot several times the pilot valiantly angled its decent so that it barreled into a V3 launcher causing its deadly payload to detonate and take a couple of half tracks with it. Despite the heavy losses they proved the new enemy could be killed.

The other two gunships pulled to the sides and dropped altitude so that the flack guns risked hitting friendly forces and strafed the vehicles with their cannons. It was then that Yosiv witnessed the most incredible act of marksmanship he had ever seen. An Apocalypse tank with _Helga _stenciled on the side of the turret rotated its main guns and began to track the air craft attempting to shoot it down with its co-axle machine gun but then the gunship hovered for less than a second as it attempted to change directions. That was all the time the tank gunner needed he fired both cannons. The two rounds fired with one just ahead of the other, the first one hit the barrier and detonated destroying it with the sound of broken glass. The second round ripped right through the tale section severing it completely sending the gunship to the ground it a great splash of snow a few dozen meters to the side and ahead of his position the convoy.

As the wreckage of the ship lay in the snow Yosiv spotted movement inside the heavily tinted canopy. He could barely make out arms pounding on it. Someone in the _Helga _must have also spotted it because the large tank gunned its engine to its max speed, which was little faster than the convoy's current speed and headed directly for the downed aircraft. Without even slowing the massive super heavy tank crushed the canopy under its tracks before rejoining the convoy next to Yosiv's half-track. He silently vowed to find the man who shot down the lethal craft and shake his hand.

Along the convoy soldiers were manning pintle mounted heavy machine guns and opening up on the last air craft. Thousands of tracers flew out struck the barrier. It was then that the death of its two comrades must have sunk in because it began to flee. With incredible speed the craft shot almost straight up making to out range the flack guns. Though what the gunships pilot didn't know was that this was a strategy that the Allies had applied multiple time throughout the war and the flak gunners were well prepared for it. Little puffs of smoke followed the craft so closely it almost looked like a smoke tale. Shrapnel smacked against the barriers in frightening volumes and the pilot fought for control of the craft as it was rocked by the concussion waves. It had almost made it to the edge of the guns range when its shields failed. Four more flack rounds detonated and the shrapnel tore through the armor that the concussion waves had stressed to the breaking point. The craft lost its engines and its mass effect core was red lined in an effort to keep it from falling at terminal velocity.

Yosiv dropped back into the troop bay and addressed the radio operator again hoping to confer with the general with what he had witnessed. "Trooper what's the radio traffic like?"

"It's a mess sir! Luitenents are trying to get casualty reports in while sergeants are asking to turn back and retrieve the wounded. The generals getting the convoy's air defenses to reorganize in case the enemy has more air assets. The base is also reporting it was hit by high altitude bombers but was able to drive them off. It seems the town was their main target sir!" The radio operator spoke fast and a little louder than necessary but he was doing an impressive job of making sense of the chaotic radio traffic. Yosiv nodded in satisfaction, as much as he was meant to be an example to the troops he was also their judge. Their every action was to be scrutinized and used by the commissars to mold the glorious Red Army into perfection. Yosiv looked the man over though it was hard to tell anything about him through his helmet and gear. All Yosiv could tell was the man was shorter and slimmer than average, which made Yosiv think a little less of the man.

"Comrade what is your name?"

"Trooper Veltrov, radio operator sir!"

"Alert me if anything changes trooper."

"Yes sir."

Yosiv pulled Dimitri aside from his troops who all sat perfectly still with their PPSh-44s loaded and head gear firmly in place, the sound of their breathing through their gasmasks filled the troop bay. He began to tell Dimitri of everything he had just witnessed when Veltrov shouted eagerly to Yosiv.

"Commissar sir! The general is on the line and requesting to speak to you!"

Yosiv snatched the hand set from the trooper and spoke quickly.

"Da General?"

"Thank the motherland you are alive, listen commissar time is short. The radar just picked up a landing force a hundred kilometers due west of our position it's made up of a few dozen vehicles that are moving unbelievably fast towards us. You need take two squads loaded in APCs, two flack half tracks and an empty cargo truck and move to the last gunship's crash site. Some of my men tracked its decent and determined that something kept it from falling to fast. A human pilot would have had a good chance of surviving. You are to look for survivors and bring them back to me alive and able to talk. If they are missing limbs it will make it harder for them to try anything. If the craft its self can be recovered in time do it. I have the flack half-tracks and truck already under way follow them due northwest. The crash site is a dozen or so kilometers that way. The truck knows the way. I need someone I can trust to handle this. If the men discover that the occupant is not human and lose focus we could lose valuable intel."

"Da," Was all Yosiv could say. The general was still drawing the distention between them being human and the others _not _being _human. _Yosiv shook his head, regardless of who the _others_ were they were about to find themselves subject to Soviet hospitality. "You will have your prize comrade General."

Yosiv handed the hand set back to trooper Veltrov and turned to Dimitri. "I need a squad that has tesla troopers attached to it and now."

Dimitri thought for a second. "Zelenkov's boys have three and their half track was just behind ours last time I checked."

"Good tell them to follow us, use my rank and name if they resist. Also make your regimental colonel aware that I'm temporarily barrowing two of his squads on the general's orders," Yosiv commanded as he turned to inform the driver of his new destination.

-oOo-

Ari Chellinian head was blurry and all she could hear was an incessant buzzing that was driving her mad. The female turian struggled hard to make sense of the last ten minutes of her life. One minute she and her gunner were being deployed and racking up an impressive number of kills on the primitive's convoy. Then the next thing she knew the primitives had brought down their wing commander with a humbling amount of fire, then Vegrull's ship had been brought down by a blasted tank then ground under tread. His screams were still present in her memory. She had made to pull away but had underestimated the range of simple out dated flack guns and had lost control. She fought to keep the ship from plummeting hard but they still smacked into the ground and tumbled with bone shattering force.

Ari checked the electronics only to find them all dead. She turned in her chair to check on her gunner. His body was limp and his neck was bent at an unnatural level. She shook her head and sent a prayer to the spirits to guide her lost comrades before she checked over herself and made sure she was alright. In the end though she came to the conclusion her left leg was broken and her right hand hurt far worse than it should but she could still use it. Her flight suit and helmet were more or less intact and would protect from the bitter cold outside.

She grabbed an emergency kit and activated a distress beacon. Then she retrieved her service pistol before hitting the emergency escape bolt which in turn safely blew the canopy off. Wincing slightly as cold air rushed into her cabin she began to climb out of the wreck. It was a painful process but she was a turian soldier who had been trained to ignore pain… And she knew the humans would be coming for her if only to get her craft but if they caught her. Well she could only imagine how mad they would be.

Her worst fears were realized when she used her helmets' optics to pick out five vehicles approaching from the distant convoy. Now she had two real options, one; she could make a run for the friendly turian armored units heading this way, of course she would never make it before the humans caught her and she didn't want to be shot in the back or ran down like a wild varren. Which left option two; Stay at the crash site and hold them off for as long as possible. Hopefully the humans would be timid after the slaughter her gunship had unleashed on them. If she lasted long enough the inbound friendly forces would rescue her. Or they would try to take her captive in which case she resolved to end it with a shot to the head before that could happen.

She placed herself with the downed craft's wreckage forming an L shaped cover with the enemy on the opposite side. It would offer her the best cover available while still allowing her to watch for any of the enemy who might try flanking her. She watched the five vehicles approach with bated breath and twitching fingers. They were moving fast towards her and were within a hundred yards before they slowed to a halt. Ari heard the sound of hatches swinging open and rumble of engines, she peaked through a hole in her cover and saw roughly thirty humans approaching under the cover of their flack guns which were leveled at her. As she scanned the humans she spotted one which stood out the most. He wore a black trench coat over a dark red uniform with gold trim and a darker red sash, atop his head sat a black peaked cap which a gold and red emblem on the front of it. A large pistol hung low on his thigh and a saber opposite to it. There was an imposing presence to the human even from here she could feel the confidence and strength oozing from him. While the others all approached with weapons drawn and pointed in the direction of her gunship and crouched low, he walked towards her standing tall with supreme confidence. For a second she wondered if her small pistol would even be able to harm her, but then she shook her head of the ridiculous thought. He was flesh and blood too and would die like the rest if shot enough.

He was shouting to the other humans and they approached faster but then she spotted the heavy troopers behind the trench coat wearing man. There were three of them all standing around 7 feet tall in bulky grey armor plating wrapped in places with a thick red cloth of some sort. The bare domed helmet had only a simple slit for the occupant to see out of. While one hand was just simple thick armor the other was a great silver gauntlet with wires leading from it to a power pack on the back. She could see electricity dancing from one finger to the next.

Ari gulped fearing what such weapon it could be but then she shook her head. She knew there was no hope of survival now. She readied herself for battle and waited till the humans were only a few dozen meters then she sprang up and fired on the trench coat wearing man. Her aim was poor and he was far faster, he quickly rolled to the side and the shots slammed into the heavy troopers behind him. They left large dents in one of their chest plates and caused the one struck to stumble a little but he survived.

The rest of the Soviets laid down suppressive fire purposely avoiding the turian pilot but they accomplished their goal in forcing her down into cover. Ari held her head down as a storm of lead landed all around her. Then from around the corner rushed one of the heavy troopers each heavy step sending snow flying. She fired three times putting large craters in the troopers armor before his outreached gauntlet lashed out and crushed her pistol in an exposition of sparks. A painful jolt ran up her arm but she let go and rolled away faster than the human could strike again.

When she came out of the roll she found herself outside her cover with a half circle of humans surrounding her with rifles pointed at her. This was the end and she knew it.

She ripped her helmet off and drew her utility knife, prepared to charge the human line she made peace with herself. But then the trench coated human stepped forward with his own saber drawn. It seemed that these savages were no better than the krogan when it came to one on one challenges. She didn't care either way. She would take one more human life for her comrade's honor before she went.

It was then that she got a good look at a humans face for the first time. It struck her that they looked like pale skinned asari with _hair_. And if their facial expressions were anything like the one in front of her was smiling confidently.

-oOo-

Yosiv truly was enthralled. Sure it was only one enemy combatant but it truly was _alien_. And unlike in their previous engagement against the aircraft where his fate was in the hands of the flack gunners this was a ground engagement. He had control over his life and could safely rely on himself and the troops around him.

Now he was facing the alien one on one. It looked avian with a boney exoskeleton and mandibles surrounding its mouth. In its talon like fingers it held a knife and stooped low favoring one leg over the other one.

Yosiv decided he found the aliens form repulsive. He strode forward with his blade held forward. The alien jumped forward suddenly aiming to stab him through the chest. Its form was sloppy and in its wounded state the alien hardly moved fast. With laughable ease Yosiv parried the blade and stabbed forward driving the tip of his saber into the alien's hand. And with a sharp slice and a grunt of effort he sliced two of the alien's thick fingers off forcing the alien to drop its knife. The creature recoiled in pain but quickly recovered. After looking at its hand it tried to run for the discarded knife. Yosiv kicked out striking the alien in its chest sending it to the ground. Yosiv had now become bored. It seemed this alien was to wounded to be any real challenge.

"You two restrain the creature! And you grab a chunk of metal and use your tesla gauntlet to heat it up till its red hot!" Yosiv commanded to the three tesla troopers who wordlessly and quickly did as they were commanded. After they had the alien restrained face down in the snow Yosiv gave his next order. "Hold its arm out."

The tesla trooper did as he was ordered. The alien stared at Yosiv in what he guessed was a glare. He smiled back at it. It was time to have some revenge.

He raised his saber high above his head and brought it down with all his force. The blade brutally cut straight through the creature's wrist. It began making a terrible screeching sound and struggling with all its might but the tesla trooper's power armor was more than enough to keep it still.

"Use the metal to cauterize the wound."

The command was followed by a hissing sound and yet more screeching.

"Hold out its other arm."

And the action was repeated, this time many soldiers yelled their approval at the mutilation of their enemy. It was only a small measure of revenge but it was a start.

Yosiv was about to order the troopers to hold its legs still when Dimitri approached him and whispered through his mask into Yosiv's ear.

"Sir we don't have time for this. I want to see it bleed like the rest of the men but the enemy is closing in."

Yosiv nodded his approval in Dimitri quietly reminding him of the mission at hand. Now was not the time to get the men worked up into a frenzy.

"You are correct sergeant get the men together and get as much of that ship loaded onto the truck. We leave in ten minutes," Yosiv commanded. He turned to the tesila troopers and told them to leave him and help move the wreck.

They dropped their captive that was panting heavily and trying not to cry out in pain. All its energy was sapped by its injuries and it could barely move.

Yosiv crouched down and grabbed the things face and lifted it till they looked each other in the eye.

"I don't know who or what you are but I do know that you just started a conflict you will regret. We will break your kind and when we find out where you came from we will exterminate your people and burn your homes to the ground."

-oOo-

-The human's political climate in 1973 (human date) when the Council races discovered them was one of heavy military influence. Their so called 'World War III' had ended only a year before the turian invasion with over 80 percent of the countries being absorbed into the Soviet Union and the remaining 20 percent being Allied counties. The war had ended when a third faction broke off from the Soviets and began to attack both sides. The end result led to a loss of the Soviets psychic and cloning technology but what it had loss in biotech it had made up for in a space program that was impressive. It even had a permanent base on their moon. An interesting fact to note is the fabled use of a time machine, which the humans adamantly deny ever existing. -

-Exert taken from _The Study of Human Politics and Consequences of its Wars _written in 2230.

**A/N**

**Okay so a few things I know will make a few people mad. One: no clones. Sorry I just felt that having the ability to make armies in days was overkill and clones just aren't my things. They also make each death mean a little less sense a soldier can be replaced easily.**

**Second; Cosmonauts are not armed with lasers and no hand held lasers. I'm trying to break away from typical two types of weapons in mass effect crossovers. Rail guns/lasers and other DEWs.**

**Now that I got that out of the way. I'm looking for a beta reader who can do a little more than just edit my grammar. I would like to have someone who I can bounce ideas off of and who can give good ideas or counter points. Oh and if anyone can make a cover for this story let me know! I can't guarantee I'll use it but if I like it enough I will.**

**Other than that all I ask is that you guys enjoy my story and if have anything to say leave a review. I'll PM you as soon as I can.**

**Have great day!**


	3. Chapter 2: Holding the Line

**A/N So here's another chapter hope you guys like it. Sorry for the huge delay, as some of you may know I recently returned from a couple month long trip throughout Europe. To those of you who live there let me just say your countries are ridiculously beautiful along with the girls!**

**Now that I got that out of the way allow me to clarify something. I'm sure most of you have figured this out but with my Soviet army there are two types of half tracks. The APC version and the one armed with the flack gun. I'm sure you can understand why I would separate the two. Wouldn't do to have APCs being any bigger of a target by slapping a big gun on top, plus now the half tracks carrying flack guns have more room for ammo. **

**Also the flack guns are multipurpose so they can be loaded with flack shells and AP shells.**

**(Skip to the story if you don't want to read my nerd rage)**

**On a completely unrelated note I was browsing through the ME and Halo crossovers and looking at the stories where the UNSC replaces the Alliance and a reoccurring theme about made me want to tear my hair out. The vast majority of these stories take place after the Covie war and humanity is suddenly best friends with the Elites, Grunts and Hunters. In these stories they always unite into one force and maybe I'm just too big of a fan of Warhammer 40k but I refuse to think humanity would do this. No way would humanity ever go "Well you aliens almost drove us to extinction killed well over half our population, decimated our industry, glassed so many farm worlds we will probably lose another chunk of our population to starvation and then after you nearly destroyed our homeworld realized the whole war was a trick and we weren't really the bad guys but that's all water under the bridge! Let's be best friends and run military ops together and then go get our nails done while we gossip about which Spartan is cutest bla bla bla…" It just seems so unrealistic to expect humans to bury the hatchet like that. I mean, hell humanity has been stuck together on Earth for 50,000 years and we still hate **_**each other.**_** The general public would probably hold hatred in their hearts for decades breeding more xenophobia than could be imagined. The only way I see peace and unity is after another war or two between the humanity and the aliens to work out that pent up aggression (which may or may not lead to the extinction of one or more races) and then extremely slow integration. Like a hundred years of integration.**

**Okay sorry for that little rage. If you're into those stories I don't mean to offend you and you're more than welcome to like whatever you want as far as I'm concerned. Also to further cover my ass let me clarify my statement. Those kinds of stories aren't bad stories at all and can be excellently written it's just that one theme that I don't like.**

**Also I highly recommend listening to Sabaton unbreakable or even better; Panzerkampf during the speech for optimal enjoyment. Just a suggestion.**

**Chapter Two: Holding the Line**

"Yes, and this is not the time for deliberation, but for action. The war is in Russia. Our enemy advances to destroy Russia, to defile the graves of our fathers, to carry off our wives and children. We all shall rise up. All of us. Every man shall go. All of us shall follow our Premier! We are Russians and we shall not begrudge our blood to defend the faith, the throne, and our motherland. We must set aside our fantasies if we are to be true sons of our homeland. We shall show Europe how Russia rises in the defense of Russia!"

-Sobranie sochinenii by L. N. Tolstoi

**Council space 1977 July 2 **

The asari shifted in her seat after hearing the details about the turian air raids. The strategy seemed sound, hit all the divisions in the Soviets home land and the surrounding countries with air attacks to soften them up and then deploy ground forces to completely destroy or rout the enemy. However it seemed they had underestimated the power of the Soviets flack guns. The rocket assisted shell were capable of reaching extreme heights and even if the turian air craft's shields stopped all the shrapnel the hull its self could not withstand the constant bombardment of shock waves from the detonation of the shells. Across the Soviet front the air groups took heavy casualties and would in turn not be able to provide the close air support the ground troops relied upon. This set the campaign back months.

"So what happened after you found out the human weapons were actually quite lethal, how did it feel to be resisted by savages?" Amaria asked continuing the interview.

"How did it feel? Like a spirits damned slap in the face! However we reacted accordingly and temporarily called a halt to the ground forces and even postponed the invasion of the Allied nations capital of Britain. I called the four generals and their command staffs together and had an immediate conference. We came to the simple conclusion that the casualties inflicted by the air attacks before they had to break off were acceptably high and we wouldn't get the chance to hit all the divisions separately again so we pushed forward with the attacks. Of course our delay gave most the human divisions the time they needed to retreat to bases or fortify their positions. Due to their advanced radar systems they knew where we would hit and just how hard. Of course we did break most divisions but not before they managed to gather resources and men from local towns and cities. When we allowed them to retreat to Moscow we sowed the seeds of our own destruction. Though at the time we still thought that if we kicked them hard enough and then offered them the chance to surrender they would bow before us," Artius continued feeling more than a little warn out. This interview was tiring and he didn't enjoy dwelling on his past mistakes anymore than the next man.

Amaria nodded, the admiral had done the best he could with what information he had. There was no way he could have known how the humans radar worked at the time. He was still relying on modern combat techniques against a race who very technology forced them into conventional warfare.

"Just for the record I would like to give the simplest explanation of the human radar tech. It baths an area in a multitude of waves from the light spectrum, most of which being radar. When the waves bounce back to the radar dish they can then interpret the data of what ever the wave has bounced off of and put it on the map. This makes stealth operations of more than one man nearly impossible. Stealth coatings proved to be ineffective as they absorbed the majority waves which left a glaring black silhouette on the radar operators screen. The radar system could also in turn guide the fire of sentry guns at the silhouettes at the operators behest. The only way to truly neutralize this advantage was to send a one man strike into the base to bring down the radar installation or attempt a drone strike under heavy flack fire," Amaria explained into the recording program.

"Admiral continue where you left off, the humans were in full reatreat to their bases."

"Ah yes 'Retreat," He put air coats around the word retreat with his talons.

**-oOo-**

**1973 December 18, 20 Kilometers South of Rudtsovsk**

Yosiv glared down at the creature in the dim light of the half track. It lay on the floor bound in enough chain to drag a Rino, judging by its ragged breathing and continued hissing it was in pain. _If such a vile creature is even capable of feeling anything. _Yosiv thought to himself.

The stumps that were once its wrists had filled the cramped troop compartment with a smell of rotten eggs and cooked meat forcing Yosiv to don his own gas mask. The rest of the troops were on edge sitting so close to an alien life form. He could understand their unease, he was only able to contain himself due to his long career as a commissar. They were only a few minutes from the base and the comm chatter was intense with speculations on the enemy a few even guessed correctly that they were aliens. So far all the troops who had actually seen the alien face to face had been ordered to silence but Yosiv had already planned a spectacular event to unmask who the enemy was to the cannon fodder.

When the troops found out they were fighting _aliens_ it could go two ways depending on how Yosiv presented the details. Either the troops would break at the thought of fighting an enemy from the stars. Or he could move their hatred to new heights. Show them a foreign invader who had arrived to exterminate the human population and ravage the motherland for all its worth and they would only see a new enemy to vent their aggression on. Of course he didn't know what the aliens true objectives were but the men didn't need to know that.

He felt the half track began to slow as the convoy approached the base so he made his way to the copula again. He opened the hatch and saw the large battlement looming ahead, the twenty meter high duracrete brick wall was lined with flack guns leveled at the horizon loaded with anti-tank shells and in between each gun he could just make out the heads of the bases garrison troops. But what really drew his attention was Tesla coils built into the wall its self. They had always been a source of comfort and safety but now he doubted their limited range would be able to help them against the new enemy. Now if they had the new mega Tesla towers that Moscow had recently built he would feel more than protected.

_And people in hell want ice water _Yosiv thought to himself. He continued to observe the fortifications. War miners had dug a trench in front of the wall with prefab bunkers spread along it. He could see the barrels of twin-linked auto cannons sticking out of the upper firing slit in each bunker, those would make even the bravest infantry think twice about attacking. His gaze dropped on the gate as his half track approached it. It was a simple thick metal construct with bunkers on either side and a dense concentration of guns all around it, a great red star with the hammer and sickle was emblazoned in the center. The sight was enough to quell Yosiv's worries as he passed through it.

The base was several city blocks large and housed everything required to wage war. With the towns near by oil field they could in fact act independently for several months, even a year with proper rationing. It was also a vast fortress capable of withstanding modern sieges and holding tactical nukes. Though they currently lacked those. With the V-3 rocket launchers they effectively out ranged every conventional weapon in the world with the exception of ICBMs and the French Grand Cannons.

Meaning that if an enemy tried to starve them out they would leave themselves subject to continuous bombardment. The only real way to take bases like these was either a risky commando strike or a full on frontal assault. Yosiv silently hoped the Aliens would choose a frontal assault. At least then he could face the enemy face to face.

He shook the thoughts from his head and concentrated on the scene around him. The last of the convoy was pulling into the large motor pool just beyond the gate and the troops were forming up by regiment in front of the vehicles. At the front of all this stood a large podium where the general would address the troops. It was there the commissar would reveal the alien to the troops.

Yosiv dropped down into the troop compartment and signaled the radio operator to step forward. He took the radio handset and punched in the code directly for the general. After a few moments he answered.

"Da commissar?"

"Are you ready to address the troops and show the face of our enemy to them?"

There was a short pause. "Are you sure this is wise? I don't know if higher ups in Moscow would agree to this?"

"General we have the backing of all the other commissars in the division and let's not forget there's an enemy landing force out there thirsty for our blood, the troops will be meeting them face to face no matter what. At least this way we can control the situation better and if done right we can even drive home the idea of winning."

"You are right of course. Will you be giving a speech after I give my address?"

"Da comrade," Yosiv cut the line and turned to his newly acquired squad and ordered them to stay in the half-track till they received the signal from him via radio. Then they were to drag the alien through the center of the motor pool and onto the podium to stand it up next to him.

With that said he left the half-track and marched to the podium. He came to a stop on top of the podium, there stood the command staff and behind them were the nine other commissars. Yosiv took his place with the other commissars and found the closest person he could call a friend, Victor. He was a bear of a man, standing at nearly seven feet tall and twice the width of the average man, his thick black beard did little to hide his ever present smile. A cigar stuck straight out of his mouth which he silently chewed on. He was a loud happy man and much loved by his troops, in fact they took to calling him uncle Victor. He inspired his men through action and praise alone. It didn't need to be said that he was a one of a kind commissar. In fact he was the only commissar Yosiv had ever met who had less field executions than him. Yosiv had at first been greatly annoyed by his laxness with his charges but after seeing his men at work there was no denying his effectiveness. Of course he was assigned to the 518th armored regiment so the tanks probably helped too.

Yosiv looked at the next commissar and found himself being glared at by the coldest blue eyes he had ever seen. The man these eyes belonged to was Alexei. The only description Yosiv could think of for the man was snake, unhealthily white snake. He was about the same height as Yosiv but noticeably slimmer and he didn't so much as move as he did slither. Everything about the man set off alarms in his head and the glare wasn't helping. He really didn't know why he held such distaste for Alexei, he did everything by the book and stuck to the most literal translations of his orders. Sure he was a little overzealous with his duty and would execute a man for the the slightest infraction but he was a monster in the field and fought harder than any man Yosiv had seen. Himself included. Perhaps it was his career ambition that was so unsettling.

He looked over the other seven commissars but recongised none. They were fresh faced men who had only seen action in the in the Soviet purges. They were most likely cadets before Semi. They were all over confident in their authority. Positive the men would do as they said just because the cap upon their head. However from what Yosiv had seen in Semi he knew most of them would turn out alright. As for the ones who went to far... well the men had a way of dealing with them by themselves. After all the battlefield is a chaotic place.

"Alexei do we have a problem?" Inquired Yosiv.

"Da, that we do _comrade, _you conscripted one of my squads into your service," the way Alexei said comrade assured Yosiv they were anything but.

"I will remind you that there is no official law stating I cannot do this. I meant no offense by it I assure you. I simply grabbed the closest squad at hand. Our retreat out of semi had been most hasty and I had been separated from my charges the 18th heavy infantry," Yosiv stated. It was true for the most part.

Sense Yosiv was the most senior commissar he was technically their commanding officer. Though the fact they were each assigned their own regiments to look after and the nature of the commissar's job made it so their paths would rarely cross. However it was an unspoken insult in conscripting from another commissar's ranks. He mentally kicked himself for forgetting that the 58th were Alexei's men.

"Then tell me Yosiv what was your intentions?" Alexei pressed.

"I simply needed a competent squad to follow me to boost the morale of the troops," Yosiv stated trying to calm Alexei's anger.

"Figures you would need to take from another man's regiment when your searching for competent men!" snarled Alexei.

Yosiv couldn't think of a proper reply to that. His position looked bad enough in front of the other commissars but an insult like that was a blatant slap in the face. Yosiv found his hand firmly gripping his revolver's handle and his teeth grinding as he tried desperately to suppress the urge to kill. Commissars were by their very nature intolerant. They had the authority to punish and kill anyone besides each other and high command, so when they had a problem with someone beyond their reach the situation could easily become out of control.

Alexei noticed Yosiv's movement and slid back and to the side putting one of the new commissars between them. His own hand dropped to his pistol and he broke out in a cold sweat. Yosiv was much renowned for his quick draw and he doubted he could beat the man in a draw. They locked eyes for the longest second in Alexei's life.

"Comrades!" Victor broke the confrontation with the cheerful yell. "We are all friends here fighting for the motherland! We need not fight amongst our selves, we have a brand new enemy to work our aggression upon. Alexei, Yosiv has paid you a great compliment. He's making your men into heroes! I have fought along side the 18th many times and can vouch for their effectiveness, Colonel Dutchcouff is a grand commander for coming from a German family!"

And just like that they were brought back to their senses. Yosiv withdrew his hand and mumbled an apology to which Alexei scoffed at.

"I will move to the other side of the podium. The air here stinks," With that Alexei left with a number of the new commissars in his wake.

"I think comrade Alexei should watch his step. He would be very dissatisfied if he found a tank parked on his tent next time the division moved out," Victor chuckled.

"Thank you friend for putting an end to that situation. I might have lost my head if it weren't for you," Yosiv stated clapping Victor on the shoulder.

"Come on Yosiv looks like the General is about to give the address."

The rest of the commissars took their positions flanking the command staff casting their steel gazes on the men assembled. The general began his long winded address speaking into the microphones in front of him. Yosiv paid little attention to it but noted the out line of it. Turkovich summed up the events of Semi and congratulated the men on their courage. He also delved into how _his _greatly superior mind saved them from falling into the trap. The general was at least competent and knew when to take advice but his ego was greatly inflated to the point Yosiv thought he even believed himself. Then he talked of how communications had been lost and they were to make a slow fighting retreat while they gathered as much resources as they could. He only told them the basics as was fitting for the common fodder. It was an unnecessary risk letting them know the whole plan lest one gets captured. He followed that with a promise that he would see them all to victory and would bring them great glory.

Yosiv had to admit the general was a halfway decent speaker. He spoke with conviction and confidence and Yosiv found himself almost believing the man.

Not soon enough the general's address came to an end and he allowed Yosiv to take the podium. A deathly silence filled the air. Commissars rarely spoke during a general's address so naturally the troops all gave their full attention.

"Soldiers of the glorious Soviet Union! Dogs of war! Strongest warriors of the motherland stand firm! Before us stands a brand new enemy! One none have ever faced before! But let that hearten your resolve for we shall be the first to conquer and obliterate their ranks! We shall drown them in a sea of gunfire and grind them beneath our treads! We will rise to the challenge and wrap our iron grip around their necks and throttle the life out of them! We will break their backs over our knees and laugh in their faces. We're not just going to kill these abomination, we're gonna murder them by the bushel! **We're gonna scoop out their guts AND USE THEM TO GREASE THE GEARS OF OUR GLORIOUS WAR MACHINE!**" The troops responded to his speech with vicious yells of approval. The anger and hatred in them had been nurtured from the moment they had been born by propaganda and indoctrination. All most commanders had to do was give them an enemy of the nation and their emotions ensured that they would do their utmost to destroy it.

While smiling in approval he rose his hand and silenced the troops before continuing. "Now witness the face of our new enemy!" Yosiv signaled the command staffs radio operator to call Dimitri. A moment of confused silenced filled the air. However soon it was replaced with rippling waves shock. Though every soldier below him had their faces hidden the change in atmosphere could be felt in the air as a chained creature was dragged through the center of the infantry formations hissing and kicking. Soon the creature was held in a standing position beside him just out of arms reach.

"Behold one of the creatures who attacked us and killed your comrades! I present to you a vile xeno, an alien from the very stars in the night sky!" A shocked silence filled the motor pool as the men digested what they had just heard.

"It seems fitting to me! There was nothing left here on earth that could defy us! Nothing that could present us with a worthy challenge! But now the universe has sought to remedy this by giving us an enemy from the skies! These disgusting creatures seek to wipe us out, crush us beneath an iron heel, but we will not allow this. None of us will simply roll over and die for this thing. We will bleed the ground dry and paint the landscape in corpses before we give these aliens anything. Even now their land units hold back in fear of us. Our radar has shown us that after we destroyed their gunships utterly they halted their advance. When they finally arrive we will make sure their fear is well qualified for, with tank, rifle, and bayonets!" Yosiv paused for a second to allow the men's anger begin to boil again.

"If you do not believe we can beat them allow me to show you!" With that said Yosiv drew his saber and in one quick clean swipe severed the aliens head from its shoulders. He the took ahold of the chains and tossed the body off the podium.

"They die just like the rest of us. They are mortal, never forget that," Yosiv walked down from the podium and walked along the front row of soldiers leaving an icy silence to permeate the air he stopped by a conscript and wiped the aliens blood off his saber on the mans thick jacket.

"Dismissed!" The general yelled down at the men from the podium.

As the men started to fall out Yosiv went on the hunt, he was searching for the tank that shot down one of the gunships. It didn't take long to track down the super heavy Apocalypse Tanks and as he passed tankers they saluted him and dropped their eyes. Usually when a commissar was stalking through your unit he was looking to make an example of somebody. How ever Yosiv found his target and a grin spread across his face as he examined the war machine with _Helga _stenciled across its turret. A man sitting in the copula noticed the commissar and snapped to attention.

"At ease soldier. What can you tell me about gunner who shot down one of those gunships?" Yosiv inquired. The man became even more nervous.

"That's... um... Dasha sir! She's the greatest shot in the regiment! And one of the greatest soldiers I've ever fought with..." The looked even more nervous and began to sweat. "If she's in trouble I'm sure its a mistake!"

Yosiv raised an eye brow. Women serving in the army was certainly not unheard of and many fulfilled critical logistical needs. Though women in the field were usually snipers or field medics. Yosiv personally didn't hold any real bias towards them like some of the more traditional commissars but he had never heard of one serving in a tank crew. His interest was peeked.

"Relax comrade, she hasn't done anything wrong that I know of. I'm simply curious," Yosiv saw the man visibly loosen up. "Though standing up for her is very brave. I respect that in a man."

"Well to be honest the men have taken to calling her Blood Thirsty Dasha. She giggles when ever she fires the big guns and when she shot down the gunship she practically begged the driver to run it over before the commander gave him permission. Most of the men are terrified of her and there's a rumor that one man once got too close to her and tried something, if you get my meaning sir, and she gutted him like a fish. In fact the only man not scared of her is uncle Vic... sorry... Commissar Victor. With all that being said though I wouldn't trade her for anyone else in a fight," The man was practically spewing everything he knew as fast as he could to the commissar.

"Gentlemen there is no need to talk behind my back, don't you know its rude," A confident and very

feminine voice announced behind Yosiv.

He turned and saw a women with breath taking beauty. She stood with her hands on her hips wearing the tankers jumpsuit with her head bear. She stood at just a few inches shorter than he. Her light blond hair fell just below her cheeks and framed her heart shaped face perfectly. A confident and playful smile crossed her lips. Yosiv had seen plenty of pretty girls in his long career and bedded more than a few in his younger days but the one in front of him was simply stunning, Yosiv for the first time in years found himself very self conscious. Of course he hid it behind his passive face.

It wasn't just her physical beauty that affected him so much, it was also her almost supreme confidence. She stood there blatantly looking him over with a playful expression on her face. He felt like a mouse cornered by a cat that loved to play with its food. He had the capability of killing her on the spot just because he wanted to, or have her publicly whipped till her skin was ragged strips and it looked like she was only amused by this fact.

"You must be Dasha," Yosiv had to force himself to speak with the total authority he normally had. He stuck his hand out and she shook it with an impressively firm grip.

"And you must be Yosiv, uncle Victor has spoken about you a lot. Says you have more courage than the whole division put together. I wouldn't mind seeing if that's true or not in the next battle," she stated with a wink.

If that remark had come from anyone else he would have shot them for questioning his bravery but when it came from her he was reminded of being a young cadet and bantering with his fellow cadets. Perhaps that old part him was still in him some where for without missing a beat he fired back a retort.

"Perhaps if you weren't so far back in the battlefields you would have seen it for your self," A honest smile spread across his face. Dasha laughed and the sound was like honey to his ears. It had been to long sense he had known the simple pleasures and comforts companionship offered.

"Um Yosiv you're still holding my hand."

He quickly let go and fought down his embarrassment.

"Sorry comrade," he said sheepishly. He quickly continued.

"My original reason for coming was to congratulate you on shooting down that gunship. It was truly an impressive act. We commissars should reward great deeds as well as punish terrible soldiers. You saved a lot of men today if there is something I can do for you tell me now and I will consider it," It truly wasn't much of a reward. A medal would be more appropriate but with contact lost with Moscow he couldn't clear it through the right channels.

Dasha became very thoughtful as she tapped her lower lip. As she looked him up and down and started smile.

"You know most of the men are convinced that the aliens will attack tomorrow. Which means I might die soon and before I die I want to be taken on one last walk," she stated with innocence.

"A Walk?"

"A romantic walk. With a man."

"Very well than," Yosiv nodded and looked up at the man still standing on the tank. He seemed reasonably good looking, though Yosiv really didn't know what women considered attractive. The man also looked young and served on an Apacolypse heavy tank, a position of the highest esteem. There didn't seem to be a reason why any soviet women would not want him.

In a flash Yosiv pulled his heavy revolver and leveled it at the young man.

"On pain of death I order you to take sergeant Dasha on the most romantic walk possible within the confines of the base!"

The man became three times paler as terror gripped him yet again. Caught between Blood Thirsty Dasha and a commissar it didn't seem like there was a way out.

"Yosiv please don't point guns at my loader," Dasha then stepped between them still smiling. "Besides that's not good enough. I want you to take me on a date."

Yosiv almost let his mouth drop. She looked to be a little older than half his age and she was flirting with him. He was a scarred up old war horse and she wanted him to act like a young man in university and take her on some sort of romantic excursion. The request was so strange...

"Unless you are on duty that is?" she asked.

"Well no I am not."

"Than lets go for a walk around the wall. If its too horrible for you to endure you can can stop there," She said it so reasonably Yosiv couldn't think of a real reason to say no.

And in all honesty he had enjoyed their brief encounter so far. Even if she made him uneasy in some ways in other ways she had brought out a different side of him. Sure it would look odd to the men seeing him with her but she was right if they all died tomorrow what did it matter if he took her for a walk today. As long as it was only a walk.

"Very well in light of your performance I agree."

"Well commissar if all it takes is shooting down an aircraft to get you to take me out, I wonder what you will do when you see my other performances," she said with a wink before looping her arm through his and setting off for the wall.

_This is going to be a long evening. _Yosiv though to himself as he was practically dragged off by the women.

**-oOo-**

They had been walking for nearly an hour now and Yosiv could not have felt more awkward. They had not exchanged a single word sense they had begun their walk and the few people patrolling the wall gave them odd looks. This was a position definitely not fit for a commissar.

But in a weird way he was enjoying himself. He was comfortable and quietly pleased to have some one next to him. Dasha had been humming a pleasant tune to her self and had smiled for most of their walk. Though Yosiv couldn't even begin to guess what the strange women was thinking. The sun had also begun to sink behind their backs.

"Your speech was nice and killing that alien in front of the men seems to have done the trick," She said suddenly.

"You think so? I was worried by their silence," Yosiv confessed. For the first time Dasha looked caught off guard.

"Well you certainly never seemed worried, and all the men could talk about was how they had a real enemy to fight and how many you're going to skew with your saber. I think the silence was just the information sinking in. Most were convinced by that speech, it got their blood up that's for sure. The general feeling around the base is that this is going to be a hard fight but a good one. I hope its winnable at least," A hint of doubt showed in her voice.

Yosiv suddenly stopped and separated his arm from her's. She turned to face him. In that moment he seemed like he had climbed out of a propaganda poster. He stood taller and looked to be an imposing statue, all traces of humanity he had just showed was wiped away and replaced with cold hard logic and certainty.

"Dasha we face a foreign invader once again. One that has proven to be just as mortal as you or I. Sure they have technology that is decades ahead of us but it is their weakness, they have forgotten the value of blood and courage. If you still have doubt remember that we fought the Allies for years and in the end despite the fact they had more advanced technology we grinded them into dust. We will do the same here even if it costs us million of lives and after we kick them off earth we will follow them into the stars and carve out an empire that would make even Alexander the Great blush," He said this with all the certainty in the world.

A fire spread behind his eyes and it seemed impossible for her to not believe him. Suddenly it seemed stupid to doubt him. They had always fought a more technologically advanced foe so this new enemy was in truth nothing really new. And once they beat them off the planet they _had_ to follow them into the stars. They would have to build a fleet of space ships to ensure that they never lost orbital supremacy and colonies other planets in case they lost earth or build a buffer zone around earth. She smiled as her doubt was washed away by this man. This evening had been good for her.

"I suddenly almost feel bad for the aliens. Fighting you seems like fighting the winter."

Yosiv's face relaxed after hearing that and once again he was just another mortal man. He was satisfied with the compliment and didn't say anything more. She once again looped her arm around his and they continued their walk. Dasha could feel Yosiv's awkwardness slowly fade and a sort of peace fall over both of them. To an outsider they might have appeared as incredibly odd. A man so much older than the women he was with going for a walk across a heavily fortified wall but any veteran in the red army knew you had to seek out comfort where ever you could find it, weather it was a simple walk in the company of a beautiful women or the bottom of a bottle.

Yosiv found himself wanted to talk to her more. He wanted to tell her about growing up in a war orphanage, becoming a commissar and try to impress her with his scars and how he got them. Of course he held himself in check. If they said to much they may grow attached and that was danger none could risk. Especially Yosiv. One day he may have to execute Dasha in front her comrades. With his iron will he crushed his feelings and nearly spit in disgust with himself.

After another hour or so they were into their second lap and the sun was well below the rolling hills surrounding the base. Yosiv was beginning to feel tired, they had been on the go ever sense they left for Semi.

"I believe its time I retire, I'll see you to your barracks," he stated after a yawn.

"Tired of me already?" she shot him a grin but nodded in consent.

Out side the door to the barracks Dasha turned and unzipped the front of her jumpsuit revealing her cleavage.

"You know most of the men are sound asleep and there is a large closet, if you'd like to complete this night," she asked earnestly.

Once again Yosiv was caught off guard. She just blatantly broke a regulation that could get you into serious trouble and to a commissar no less. His sense of duty would have normally called for him to do his job and deal out consequences but it was strangely silent now and all he could do was scoff and give a retort.

"My personal quarters are far more comfortable and private."

Dasha raised an eye brow. Yosiv shook his head in disbelief at her and himself, but he found himself drawn to Dasha, the only soldier he had met who completely ignored the fact he was a commissar. He couldn't bring himself to directly say no or punish her. Though it took considerable effort he found a way out.

"Go to bed Dasha, my gut tells me tomorrow will be a hard day," There he didn't say no but he didn't say yes. Though the look of disappointment that crossed her face sent a stab of regret at him.

Without saying a word she spun and marched into the barracks. Yosiv sighed knowing that with women there was no right way to handle it. He retired to his personal quarters with the feeling of regret following him the whole way there. Perhaps it had truly been too long sense he had a companion of some sort and that was why turning Dasha down was still bothering him. He resolved to push through it as he entered his spartan room. He pulled off his jacket and dress shirt and sat down at his desk filling out reports and reviews of soldiers that had caught his attention. It was his least favorite part of the job but it needed doing. But still the look on Dasha's face nagged at him. After a few minutes he reached for a bottle of vodka he kept hidden under his desk. He downed a shot and considered going to Dasha and apologizing... for what? He didn't honestly know. He stomped the thought out and tried to finish his work. After downing another shot he decided that Dasha was not only beautiful but smart. She had predicted all of his reactions and somehow knew he wouldn't punish her. No way would she take a risk like that with a commissar. It only made him respect her more, which didn't help.

After the third shot of vodka he decided drinking was a bad idea. He knew he wasn't even tipsy but it wasn't helping him forget at all. Only an hour into his paper work he decided to give it a rest. He was acting like a teenage boy and a night of sleep would be help clear his mind.

As he was getting ready for bed he heard a knock on the door.

_What is it now? _

He swung the door open with more force than he intended but he was irritated now and who ever was at the door would need a good reason for disturbing him. He was surprised to see Dasha standing there.

"I wanted to apologies for how I acted, may I come in?" Dasha asked.

"Very well."

"It's just been very lonely lately, with the war ending I don't have anything to distract me and with R-and-R looking like a long way off I guess I was a little desperate. I went to far. But I won't lie I was drawn to you in an inappropriate way," She said as she closed the distance between them invading his personal space.

Yosiv had been around the block more than a few times and could see what she was trying to do. Dasha was a women who got what she wanted and was not easily denied. She was going to try subtlety now that being forward had failed. It might have been because of the vodka but he decided to play along for now.

"Don't be too hard on your self, we live in hard times," he took a step forward so that they were nearly touching.

"I tried to go to sleep but all I could think of was what you said on the wall. I saw the greatness in you and felt my self get so caught up in your presence. I just hope I haven't done any permanent damage," she idly ran her fingers across his broad chest.

Before he even realized what he was doing he looped his arm around the small of her back and drew her closer till he could feel her body against his. She let out a small breath in surprise but smiled pleasantly. Yosiv knew he had given into her now but oddly enough he felt no regret and realized he truly wanted this even if it was against regulations.

The best commissars knew when to look the other way after all.

"That all depends, are you still caught up in my presence?"

"More now than ever," she purred.

Yosiv leaned forward and kissed her deeply. It was a sweet thing usually reserved for lovers and for tonight they were.

"Dasha stick to the forward approach. Subtlety isn't your forte."

"I don't know... it got you to kiss me did it not?"

Yosiv began to wonder who read who better.

His thoughts were quickly put to the side when they locked lips once again. This time far more sensual.

Her tongue slid into his mouth and teased at him. He replied in kind. They both stopped long enough to strip each other of clothing. She then leaned forward and lightly nipped his lower lip before walking over to his bed moving her hips in a sensual fashion. She looked over her shoulder and shot Yosiv a 'come and get me look.'

_I'm in for a long night. _Yosiv thought.

**-oOo-**

When morning came Yosiv found himself alone in his quarters. It was a lie to say he wasn't a little disappointed to not see Dasha. However he understood why she had left before he had woken if they were caught he could kiss his career good bye and she would face far worse.

_After all it was a one time thing. It wouldn't do for us to act like lovers and be there in the morning. _Yosiv reasoned to him self.

He went through his morning routine and showered the smell of sex and war off himself and dressed in a new uniform. After throwing his thick black leather trench coat on and placing his peaked cap upon his head he made his way to exit his quarters. As he passed his desk a white piece of paper folded in half caught his eye. On its front side _Yosiv _was written and circled with a heart. It was a note left by Dasha. It still held her scent. He stuffed it into his breast pocket and decided to read it later, he had too report soon.

Making his way to the the command bunker Yosiv noticed the base was in a frenzy of activity. Men ran in every direction carrying everything from ammunition too spare parts. All this spurred Yosiv into a faster pace. He entered the large blast doors of after presenting his I.D. to the guards to find even more activity. Men shouted coordinates across the cramp dimly lit room and ran back and forth carrying reports. At the center of the maelstrom stood the general tall and proud. He looked rather splendid too in his uniform covered in medals and serviced pins. Yosiv unconsciously nodded in approval before locating the only other commissar in the room, Victor. The bear of a man stood smiling as he observed the gears of war in motion. He nodded as Yosiv approached.

"I heard a rumor you had an active night," Victor quietly stated. The hair on the back of Yosiv's neck stood up on end. Last thing he needed was another commissar to become an enemy.

"Relax Yosiv, she told me herself and your secret is safe with me. I'm glad you found somebody to occupy your time. Though I'm surprised you didn't choose one of the older nurses from the field hospital, I didn't realize you liked it so rough," Victor chided lightly.

"It was a one time thing, I will not be breaking regulations like that again," Yosiv stated defensively.

Victor let out a laugh louder than necessary. "I doubt she'll let you stick to that creed."

Yosiv shrugged signaling the end of the discussion. He entered his professional mode and suddenly it was all business.

"What's going on?" Yosiv inquired.

"The aliens have entered battle formation at their camp. Simple armored wedge, judging by radar pings its heavies up front with troop carriers at the back. I don't think they realize our radar can pick them up otherwise they wouldn't be making themselves so obvious. Though it looks like they are waiting for the order to move out," Victor explained. As he did so most of the other commissars filed in.

"They are well with in our missile range, why haven't we started hammering them?" A voice said from behind them. The others turned to face Alexei who had slithered in unnoticed.

"The general doesn't know their anti-missile capabilities so he's holding them back. I think he has something up his sleeve though," Victor elaborated.

It was then that the general waved them over to the command tactical map. The device was a large display set into a waist high podium. It fed information and visuals in real time to an overlaid map of the surrounding area, needless to say when augmented with radar support it was far superior to drones and satellite feeds which could be shot down or disrupted by bad weather.

"Gentlemen the enemy will attack soon and your regiments colonels know the strategy in detail but I will break it down for you simply. We've dispatched the 99th light armored regiment with their flack half-tracks to the west into the city so that they may augment the local militia, if they try an attack on our rear they will either have to push through Rudtsovsk or risk being surrounded. With that being said the majority of our forces have been deployed to the east walls. Alexei and Yosiv your regiments have been deployed to the main gates, Alexei you have the wall, Yosiv you have the trench. I'm counting on you both holding firm, the plan will only work if we have the main gate. Victor you and the other armored regiments will be kept behind the wall. I want their engines running and ammunition racks full the entire battle," and so the general continued his explanation and as he revealed more and more details Yosiv found him self smiling in enthusiasm for the up coming battle.

**-oOo-**

Yosiv walked the length of earthwork his men had garrisoned with Dimitri's squad silently following. All around, the 18th heavy infantry prepared to defend the base. The men eagerly saluted him and a few even cried their praise for beheading the alien. He called out to the lieutenants and sergeants by name and gave words of encouragement to the conscripts who swelled with pride at receiving his positive attention. He even inspected a few of the auto-cannon emplacements. Yosiv was always impressed with how fast MCVs could mass produce materials. Most the bunkers and trenches outside the wall and the multipurpose flack guns on the wall its self had been built in the last 24 hours. Though the extreme pace had wiped out their reserves of resources and nearly destroyed one of the four war factories that resided in the base.

Yosiv made his way into the forward command post witch was little more than a whole in the ground with a thick metal lid, filled with communication equipment and maps. Colonel Dutchcouff stood in the center, face as impassive as ever. Dutchcouff was by far the hardest man to read Yosiv had met in a long while. He was the third generation in a German immigrant family, as such he was looked down upon by high command and his fellow officers but anyone who had fought with him could not deny his effectiveness. The man never gave any sign of carrying for his troops but neither was he overly aggressive in throwing away their lives. He found an acceptable number of casualties and never went over or under it. Yosiv supposed Dutchcouff's total unemotional attachment had given him the strength to make the harder choices that came with command. How the man had managed to climb the chain of command despite his heritage was a mystery to most but Yosiv had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that his rivals had a habit of disappearing.

"Yosiv," the man acknowledged.

"Dutchcoff, the men are ready and willing. I'll be in the center of or regiment, contact me when the flanks need my presence," Yosiv stated. They had developed a simple understanding over the years and needed to communicate very little to work well together.

"Of course."

So he exited with Dimitri and his squad in tow. He quickly entered a bunker just down the trench line and eyed the hill designated 'hill delta.' The hill its self was the tallest in the area and formed a half circle around the south, west, and north sides of the base, it was just a short five hundred meter stretch away. Meaning anything parked on the hill would be in optimal range of the multipurpose flack guns. In fact the hill had been a key reason for the base to built here, the planners had been thinking of the prism tanks instead of alien weapons though.

As he scanned the horizon looking for the first signs of the enemy he heard a faint whistling that was growing louder by the moment. It only took a second for him to realise what it was.

"Artillery!" someone in the bunker shouted.

Moments later men started dying. Explosions blossomed all along the wall destroying guns and sending men and body parts flying. The ground shook as the air roared while the bombardment carried on, men dived face down into the mud of the trenches to take cover only to be obliterated seconds later by highly accurate fire. Seconds rolled by and soldiers died in droves, however it seemed like some luck was on their side as the battle bunkers along the line managed to escape most of the aliens shells. The few that were hit managed to shrug off the blows. The wall also was largely left intact even if it was missing a sizable portion of its garrison and guns.

Seconds stretched on to minutes with the bombardment never losing its intensity. More and more men had crowded into the two leveled bunker over this time. The smell of stale sweat and dust filled the cramped structure, soon Yosiv found himself uncomfortably hot and feeling sick from the constant shock waves of explosions rocking him. He forced down the urge to vomit. A trooper beside him suddenly lifted his mask and vomited on to the floor splattering his boots with bile. The young man suddenly went rigid after realising who's boots he had soiled. Fear showed in his eyes as Yosiv stared through the lenses in the mans gas-mask.

Yosiv reached out and firmly gripped the troopers shoulder. "Stand firm man! We will weather this storm," He fixed the soldier with a stern look for added impact.

A shell hit the bunker shaking it hard and sending stone chips to the floor not a second later.

"We're all going to die!" someone cried out.

Yosiv turned in time to see Dimitri slam the butt of his rifle into the mans helmet. He was glad to see the sergeant taking to his new duties well.

"I said stand firm, damn you!" Yosiv shouted to be heard over the bombardment. He then hoisted the downed man to his feet forcefully and shoved the mans rifle back into his hands. Yosiv cast his glare around the room looking for anyone other would be doomsayers. He was satisfied when all else remained silent.

Then suddenly the shells stopped falling like a water spout which had its valve slammed shut. An unearthly silence filled the battle field only to be broken by the muffled screams of the wounded.

"Why have they stopped?" Dimitri quietly asked hesitantly as if he risked bring the shells down again by speaking.

"They'll bring in their bombers to break the fortifications with heavier munitions now that the artillery has softened up our air defenses," The bunkers twin-linked auto cannon gunner spoke.

As if to capitalize his point a muffled roar from the distance made its self known. Flack guns along wall began to angle their guns higher. In mere seconds they opened up with a near hypnotic _thud-thud-thud _as they fired the first salvos in the bases defense. Yosiv watched helplessly as a missile streaked down from the sky and struck the bunker to the south of them. The warhead broke into the heart of the structure and detonated with in, killing all. The first breach in the wall appeared farther to the south as another warhead hit its mark.

"We're dead for sure," the gunner stated with certainty.

Yosiv leaped onto an ammunition crate and cried out. "Are you men or are you mice?

Even now our brothers on the wall defend us, throwing every thing they have at the enemy and you lack the faith in them that will see us win this war! We need to trust in each other in this time of destruction or all is lost. It was not our nukes that saw us to victory, nor was it our tanks that beat the allies. It was the bond that all soldiers of the motherland share that gave us the courage to storm our way to success. How can you be so cowardly? How can you be sure of defeat before the battle has truly started? We must fight for each other and fight for the glory of the Union! Shame to you cowards who lack courage to be sure of victory," he glared around the room tempting anyone to speak out in defiance. His hand rested on his pistol ready to deal out death. He saw the look of shame, hatred, and hardened resolve in the men's eyes.

Fate seemed to favor Yosiv yet again as a hand full of fire balls plummeted out of the sky in the distance marking the death of at least a few more alien air craft. The missiles and bombs ceased to fall shortly after.

"They cannot even stomach a real fight! Knock out a few of them and they flee. Ha comrades they are the true cowards," Dimitri stated. A few heads lifted and others jeered at the retreating aircraft. Yosiv let himself fill with pride at how quickly the troops rebounded.

_Dimitri would have made a fine commissar. _Yosiv thought to himself.

It was then the radio operators began to pick up their wired handsets and listen for a few seconds then frantically relayed orders to sergeants.

"Alright men, back into the trenches! Quick gather the wounded and salvage what we can. Enemy ground forces are inbound E.T.A. Five," a lieutenant shouted.

Quickly and orderly the troopers ran out of the bunker and set about the grim tasks. All along the trench men rushed out of bunkers or what ever cover they could find. Wheeled flack guns were wrestled out of ammunition bunkers and brought back into position and MG nests were manned. Medics ran around tending to the wounded and loading those who could be moved onto stretchers. The air was rank with the smell of burnt meat and hair, and as the smoke cleared away more and more carnage was exposed. As Yosiv walked down the trench line he jumped in surprise when he felt something grip his ankle. On the ground below him was a man who should have been dead. His legs had been blown off and his intestines were spilled out in front of him. Yet his one good arm reached out to Yosiv so He knelt down and gripped the mans hand and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry comrade there is nothing that can be done for you. All I can do for you is ease your passing."

The dying trooper nodded and gurgled out one word "Revenge."

"Of course trooper," Yosiv drew his pistol and shot the man between the eyes in a flash. A lead weight formed in his gut as he took in all the carnage. This wasn't glorious combat at all, it was just slaughter. Yosiv's blood began to boil. This man had never been given the chance to fight this new enemy on the ground. He had lost the chance to bring glory to the motherland and him self. As Yosiv looked around he found several men who had stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange.

"Make his death worth something," was all he said before moving down the line.

It was then a terrible roar filled the air again only this time it came from behind the base. Through the air soviet missiles streaked towards the enemy carrying their vengeance swiftly. Soviet troops cheered as they watched the smoke trails fly into the distance. Yosiv swiftly made his way back to the command bunker as more waves of missiles filled the sky. The missile batteries were firing everything they had with no sign of letting up. He entered as yet another wave of destruction flew overhead. The general had moved all the divisions V3s into the city in the cover of the night disguised as cargo trucks. The tallest buildings in the center of the city offered cover and with the launchers hid in garages it only took them minutes to deploy after the enemy artillery had had been pinged by radar.

"Colonel what's the situation?"

"The first step of the generals plan is in full effect. Our missiles are hitting their artillery and main advance. They're managing to shoot down many missiles but the sheer volume of fire is getting through and we have confirmed kills, the fools gave away their artillery and left them without adequate support. Now they have two options; they can send the force into the city but it'll take them out but that'll take hours and leave their forward base open, or they'll have to split their force to keep us here and clear out the city which will lessen the pressure on both fronts. All in all the general is doing well."

"Where do you predict the focus of their attack will be?" Yosiv asked.

"The main gate. Its the biggest entrance into the base and if they take it they will be able to get their armor through without it getting bogged down by rubble or the narrow breaches in the wall. They may just have their tanks go hull down on delta hill and shell us but that'll leave them open missile attacks so it'll become an attrition match and I'll bet all my campaign medals that we out number them and can replace our losses easier than they can. The general is forcing them into an all out assault," The colonel elaborated. He paused as a comms operator approached and handed him a head set.

"Command just issued a warning, a regiment sized force has split off from the main advance and are headed for the city. Also the main advance is picking up the pace, looks like I was right. Commissar I suggest you get out there," the Douchcouff urged.

Yosiv nodded and dashed out of the bunker once again. He found himself just on the edges of the trench line bellow the main gate when the enemy armor made its known. From the edge of hill delta they rained fire down on his men. The humans own guns responded in tow with flack guns loaded with AP rounds. The first volley fell short as the guns ranged in but loaders quickly slid shells into the breaches as gunners adjusted their sights and the second volley hit much accurately. Shields sparked as a few rounds hit home on the now exposed tanks that were slowly rumbling down the hill raining much more well placed shots. Yosiv got his first look at the alien machines then.

They were slightly smaller than Rinos with four large wheels instead of tracks, a small turret sat upon an elongated hull which tapered to a wedge at the front.

Yosiv could see that they were spaced apart all along the battle field and closing. To the defenders it felt like a noose slowly tightening around their neck, but they gave no quarter. Cannon after cannon fired their deadly pay load. To the aliens credit their slow advance never lessened and they moved with such unity Yosiv found himself marveling at their discipline. Just to Shepard's left a gun emplacement took a direct hit in a fantastic explosion. The blast waved slammed into him and caused his ears to ring, many of the troopers around the emplacement stumbled dumbfoundedly. Yosiv shook his head and leaped into action throwing soldiers back onto the firing steps. He picked up another trooper who sat on the ground unmoving only to find the man silently staring at a stump that use to be his arm. A medic stepped up and sintched a tourniquet just above the bleeding stump with practiced ease before sending the man stumbling off towards the nearest med bunker. If the trooper was strong enough he would make it, if not... well there was no room in the red army for weakness.

"Commissar we're getting torn up here! Where's our artillery?" Dimitri shouted.

As if to answer him missiles filled the air again only to slam into the kill ground between the base and hill delta. Their lethal payload detonated with dazzling explosions overloading much of the armored advances shields. Now it was the Soviets turn to unleash hell. Bunkers auto-cannons opened up with their distinctive _Tud-tud-tud. _Alien metals sparked and dented under the renewed assault and when the flack guns opened up again a few more tanks ruptured as rounds detonated within their cramped confines.

The enemy commander must have saw the futility in continuing the assault because the tanks were in a sudden full reverse retreating at an impressive speed firing the whole way out. As soon as they were beyond the hill another unearthly silence filled the air. Across the snow craters smoked and the wreckage smoldered. It was a long minute before officers broke the silence by calling out for casualty reports and issuing out orders.

Yosiv sighed heavily, they had beaten back the first attack but they were just testing their defenses. The real battle would begin shortly. To make matters worse the missile strikes had stopped falling.

_We're in for a long day. _Yosive thought.

**-oOo-**

**Bam! Cliff hanger! **

**I know everyone hates them but at least I can promise that the next Chapter will be chalk full of Dakka.**

**Also on a side note I would like to offer you guys the chance to submit personalities for Dimitri's squad. Please post as a review like this.**

**Name: Sir Dirpington**

**Physical Descriptions: He's that one guy, with the face.**

**Weapon: Be creative with this one guys and remember Yosiv actively encourages looting. (Except alien weapons sense they are made for turian hands and have yet to be seen in large scale)**

**Service History: Are they grizzled veterans or fresh faced conscripts?**

**Personality: Is he (or she) a coward simply trying to survive or are they fearless.**

**Other: Optional, just if you want to make something clear about them.**

**I will keep this open throughout the story sense people die and replacements sent in. How ever that doesn't mean everyone will die.**

**Mary Sues submitted will be killed in the most abrupt and pointless way I can think of.**

**Also I'm in need of a beta reader to help me out. My spell check program is really weird and doesn't catch very many mistakes and when I'm proof reading over 9,000! words I'm bound to miss a few mistakes if anyone is interested PM me!**


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